NYC Judge Says Occupy Protesters Can Come Back And Bring Their Tents

A judge has ordered protesters be allowed back in the park with their belongings.Another hearing will be held at 11:30 regarding the decision.

The following is from a press release delivered by attorneys for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

We spoke with one of the attorneys, Yetta Kurland. She told us that the team of lawyers put together cause in a matter of hours and that they’re “confident the Court will uphold the Judge’s ruling. We have the law, and we have public opinion on our side.”

She also said that she believes that there’s no coincidence that today’s police action took place a few days before a major protest was set to take place downtown on Thursday.

The press release is below:

New York, NY: At around 6 AM on November 15, 2011, attorneys associated with the New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild working as the Liberty Park Legal Working Group obtained a temporary restraining order against the City of New York, various City agencies, and Brookfield properties directing that occupiers be allowed back on the premises with their belongings.

Earlier, at approximately 1 AM, the NYPD began amassing around Zuccotti Park “aka Liberty Park.” In the following hours reports surfaced that the NYPD entered the park with police in riot gear backed up by numerous police vehicles, including a bulldozer, evicting occupiers. In the process they destroyed property and arrested dozens of occupiers and protestors including NYC Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez and District Leader Paul Newell.

In the coming hours, days and weeks the LPLWG will pursue all legal options to enable the occupiers to continue to exercise their first amendment rights to speech and assembly for speech. Attorney Yetta Kurland, one of the attorneys from the LPLWG, said, “This is a victory for everyone who believes in the First Amendment. We will continue to fight for everyone’s right to continue the occupation.” In response to the injunction, Daniel Alterman, also an attorney with the LPLWG, stated that, “This is a victory for all Americans, for the constitution and for the 99%.” Gideon Oliver, another attorney with the LPLWG reacted by saying, “The LPLWG has been fighting to ensure their right to free speech from day one of the occupation. The occupiers’ right to free speech is based in our most core legal principles and we will be here till the end to fight for those rights.”